Roof, ceiling, and floor construction.



. Patented Aug'. le,- '1902. B. McnouaALL. BUOF, CEILING. AND FLUOB CONSTBUGTION.

(Applicatiop led Feb. 19, 1902.)

(No Mo'del.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. 707,250.V Patented Aug. I9, |902. s. mcnouGALL.

ROOF, GEHNG, AND FLOOR CQNSTBUCTIUN.

(Application med Feb. 19, 1902.) (No M0del,) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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'rods fastened to the sides of j oists.

I UNirnn STATES ATENT OFFICE.

BARNFITT MODOUGALL, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

RO,OI1,`OEII 'INO,*ANO I-LOOR CONSTRUCTION.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 707,250, dated August 19, 1902. Application filed FehruarylQ, 1902. Serial No. 94,810. (No model.)

T0 all wil/0m it may concern:

Be it known'that I, BARNETT MODOUGALL, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Roof, Ceiling, and Floor Construction; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to improvements in the construction of floors, ceilings, roofs, and the like. Its primary object is to provide a horizontal partition which shall have a minimum depth, which shall be as light as is consistent withnecessarystrength, and Which shall depend solely upon the building-walls for support, obviating the necessity of supporting-columns, cross-walls, long arches, or loW- hanging trusses, thereby affording greatly-increased floor-space.

It consists, essentially, of a series of joists or beams radiating from a common center, having their outer ends suitably anchored, and concentric bands or rings by which said joists are tied into a rigid structure.

It also includes details and various modiications of construction, which will be more fully set forth hereinafter, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-l Figure lis a plan View of the'structure. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a similar View showing the use of-the truss-rods. Fig. 4. is a view of a corner of the above structure. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a floor, showing truss-rods. Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the use of metallic rings and short truss-rods. Fig. 7 shows the truss- Fig. 8 is a vertical section of Fig. 5. Fig. 9Iis a similar section of Fig. 6. Fig. l0 shows a section through a roof structure.

A represents the supporting-walls of any building or room which it is intended to oor or roof over. be circular, square, or of other polygonal shape.

In carrying out my invention as -shown in Fig. 1, for instance, I take a series of built-up joists 2 and dispose them in such manner that each joist element radiates from a common center 3. These joists or ribs may be constructed of wood, iron, or other suitable material. Each of these joists is composed of The space to be covered may' anumber ofsuperposed bars, beams, or strips placed either flat or on edge and between which the elements forming the bands or rings Llare inserted-that is, the joist and bandelements are alternately placed in relation to each other, so that when the parts are bound iuterlocked parts are united into a rigid skeleton structure capable of sustaining many times its own weight. The outer ends A, which latter simply serve to sustain the weight of the radial floor or roof structure. The bands 4. may ber circular, polygonal, or of any other suitable shape. Where they are thus built'up and in polygonal form, as in Figs.' l and 5, they are so disposed one in relation to its successor that they will break joint. and form overlappinglsystems of continuous transverse supports. By this means the weight of each joist and of the load carried thereon is distributed over practically the whole of the floor area, and the entire weight is borne by the walls A. Steel or iron rings 4.a may be used, as in Figs. 3, 6, and 7 consisting of rods or of segmental bars overlapped and united after the manner described in the first instance. This structure `may be further reinforced by means of trussrods 5, whichextend diametrically across and beneath the flooring and have their outerl ends supported against plates 6 on the ends of the joists. There might be four, eight, sixteen or more of these rods, and by having their ends threaded and provided with nuts 7 their tension may beregulated as desired.

The construction thus Vdescribed 4furnishes. a skeleton structure excellently adapted for floor and ceiling or for a fiat roof. It affords a shallow transverse horizontal partition upon whose upper surface the flooring or roofing may be laid and whose under surface serves as the ceiling of the room beneath. It allows the entire floor-space inclose'd by the support- Walls to be utilized, doing away with supporting-columns, cross-walls, long arches, or lowhanging trusses.

For an inclined roof the pitch maybe varied at will by setting the joiststrafters) at any desired angle and'using stout steel rings at either end of the rafters to resist thrust.

Intermediate of the ends of the rafters would together by nails, spikes, or screws the' of the joists extend into or throughl the walls IOO be disposed concentric bands or rods of suitable shape, as before.

At times it may be desirable or necessary to provide for a dome-space, skylights, and the like, in which event I form mystructure with a central opening 8, as shown in Figs. l, 3, 5, 7, and lO. In this case the joists or rafters 2a extend radially, though instead of meeting in the center they abut against and are secured to the steel curbing 9. The joists are tied together by concentric bands or rings and may be reinforced by means of the short truss-rods 5, having one end fastened to the curbing 9 and the other end to the sides of the joists, as at 10, or they may be secured to plates 6 on the outer ends of the joists, as shown in Figs. 4c and 5.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A floor and roof construction consisting of a series of joists or bars radiating from a common center, said bars or joists unsupported except at their outer ends, and concentric bands or rings engaging said bars or joists and uniting them into a rigid structure.

2. A iioor and roof construction consisting of a series of joists or bars radiating from a common center, said bars or joists supported only at their outer ends, concentric polygonal bands secured to said bars or joists and uniting them into a rigid structure.

3. A floor and roof structure consisting of a series of joists or bars radiating from a common center, and a plurality of concentric, polygonal bands secured to and uniting said joists or bars, said bands lying in break-joint courses.

4. A floor and roof structure consisting of a series of joists or bars radially disposed in relation to a common center, the contiguous ends of said joists inclosing a central opening, a curbing of steel or like suitable material against which the said contiguous ends abut, and a plurality of concentric binding rings or bands.

5. A floor and roof structure consisting of a series of joists or bars radially disposed in relation to a common center, each of said joists comprising a plurality of superposed strips or plates lying in the same vertical plane, concentric bands or rings alternately disposed between said strip and means Whereby the rings and strips are rigidly united.

6. A floor and roof structure consisting of a series of joists radially disposed in relation to a common center, each of said joists composed ot' a plurality of superposed, interspaced strips or plates, concentric bands or rings in the spaces between said strips, and said strips and interlocking bands or rings rigidly secured together.

7. A floor and root construction consisting of a series of joists or bars radially disposed in relation to a common center, said joists or bars supported only at their outer ends and composed of a plurality of superposed, inter spaced strips or elements, bands or rings having superposed elements in the spaces between said strips, means by which said joist and ringclements are firmly secured together, and reinforcing radial truss-rods substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

BARNETT lNlCDOUGALL.

NVitnesses:

GEO. l). ALLEN, F. G. LINDSAY. 

